8 Arrested As Traders Riot At KMA Premises

At least eight persons including two women have been arrested after scores of traders stormed the premises of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly on Tuesday night.

The traders besieged the premises of the Assembly demanding an immediate release of their colleagues who were arrested and being detained by city guards in an ongoing decongestion and relocation exercise.

According to the Assembly, the relocation task-force on Tuesday morning went to the Central Business District to evict traders selling on pavements as part of its exercise to decongest the metropolis.

Some of the traders were arrested by police after pulling knives on the task-force members and resisting attempts to evict them from the pavements.

Their colleagues later stormed the premises of the KMA to protest the arrest.

They were resisted by city guards in an attempt to make entry into the main yard.
The tensed atmosphere resulted in a vehicular jam for hours.

The aggrieved traders bolted when police arrived. They chased after by the police and later, eight persons including two females were arrested.

Speaking to XYZ News, the spokesperson for the Assembly, Godwin Okumah Nyame narrated that,“the police this morning arrested some traders to the Central Police station and they thought that those who were arrested were here. For that matter, they mobilized and came here.The police who were also on alert quickly moved here and arrested those who came here. They came here with some sticks and then some offensive weapons just to attack our people.”

Mr. Nyame also revealed that the relocation task-force as part of the exercise arrested ten drivers and put them before court for loading and dropping off passengers at unauthorized places.

He said four of them appeared in court and were charged, while a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of six others who failed to appear before the court.

Mr. Nyame indicated that, the Assembly will deal with recalcitrant drivers and traders who fail to comply with the relocation exercise.

According to him, the Assembly has done enough sensitization on the exercise and was worried how some were not willing to comply.

The KMA has relocated traders and drivers from the CBD and Kejetia to the Racecourse terminal and other markets in the metropolis.

The exercise is to pave way for the completion of the Kejetia redevelopment project and also decongest the metropolis.